


birthday surprises

by Magali_Dragon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, blink and you'll miss it angst, happy birthday Emilia so I wrote a Dany birthday fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magali_Dragon/pseuds/Magali_Dragon
Summary: It's Dany's birthday and Jon has planned some surprises, but they both end up getting the biggest one of all.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen
Comments: 75
Kudos: 450





	birthday surprises

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday to the true queen, the smol queen, the most inspirational queen, etc. Emilia Clarke! I love that woman to absolute pieces and hope she had a fantastic day-- judging from her instagram she definitely did! Fearless!
> 
> I was going to do a canon-set story like I did for Jon's birthday fic last year, but somehow ended up writing this modern ditty. I don't know why it ended up how it did, I wanted to do a surprise party but then this happened, so enjoy!
> 
> (side note, even though it is October in real life, I think of Dany as an Aires so this would be set in late March/early April)

* * *

Daenerys awoke to a pounding headache and intense back pain that had her wishing she didn't have to get up to pee, but unfortunately, she did. She seriously contemplated just lying there in the bed and peeing her pants. The rational voice in her head told her that was absolutely _not_ an option, while the irrational exhausted part said _sure go right ahead, Jon will clean up after you._

And of course he would, because he was the sweetest boyfriend in the entire universe, and it didn't deserve such a cinnamon roll as the love of her life. That's what the irrational part said. The rational part spoke, firm, warning her that it was his fault she was in such a predicament and he needed to be punished. They warred with each other a moment. For some reason the irrational side spoke in Common Tongue and the rational side spoke in Valyrian. One wore a black coat and the other in a pretty purple dress.

_I want to wear a purple dress today._

She groaned, pushing herself up to her elbows, eyeing the massive mound in front of her, which was now practically eye level. "Can I get any fatter?" she mumbled, rocking from side to side, which helped the back pain a bit. She got enough momentum and swung her legs over the side, letting out a dragon roar to push to her feet. Her center of gravity was off and she almost toppled back, but thankfully the massive white husky-wolf hybrid who had been at her side since the very moment of conception-- or so it felt like-- was there to provide his collar for her to grab, to stay upright again.

"Dany?"

"Fine," she mumbled, shuffling and _not waddling at all_ from her side of the bed to the bathroom. The voice called out over the sound of the shower. She glanced at the alarm clock on his side of the bed and noted it was earlier than she normally got up, but well, baby had to pee. She shoved her palms into the small of her back, making her way into the bathroom and by the glass shower door, tapping lightly on it as a good morning to her boyfriend.

He pushed the door open, popping his head out, shampoo still in his hair, which he'd put into horns. She smirked, noting to give him shit about that later. "You alright?" he demanded, concerned.

"Fine," she said, glancing down at the toilet seat, which looked lower than it had been yesterday. She sighed and decided she'd just have to deal with it. She did her business, relieved to be done with that necessity, and went to wash her hands. her back still ached and so did her head. Maybe she needed more water.

The shower went off and Jon stepped out, grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist, but not before she got a good look at his beautiful backside. She snatched her toothbrush, suddenly annoyed. She remembered when her backside was nice and shapely, instead of the spreading mass it was now. Same with her boobs. And her belly. She accepted the kiss he pressed to her shoulder as she brushed her teeth, before swatting him away when he went to touch her belly. She didn't want to be touched. "Stop it," she grumbled.

"Okay." He was almost too perfect for his own good. She snarled, annoyed at that. He leaned against the shower wall behind her, ruffling a towel over his dark curls, now spiraling everywhere from the water. He grinned. "Do you know what today is?"

She spit out toothpaste. "Uh-huh." And she whirled around, jabbing the toothbrush at him. "And I don't want you to do anything."

His eyes widened. "Oh...okay."

"I don't want a party, I don't want a big thing, I want to lay on a heating pad and hot water bottle, and I want you to rub my feet and promise me that you will never, ever, never forget a condom again, do you understand?"

"Aye."

"I'm going to make you swear it in blood," she threatened.

He nodded quickly, hair bouncing. "Aye."

"Now go away. You're making me horny and I feel like dragon shit."

"Aye."

It wasn't fair at all to him, tears pricking the corner of her eyes a moment later, and she knew she had to apologize. Sometimes she didn't know what came over her lately. She rinsed her mouth and washed her face, shuffling back out into the bedroom. He'd already made the bed. She was going to cry, certainly. Ghost was waiting for her, lying at the foot of the bed and wagging his tail.

She tapped his nose. "Thank you, sweet boy," she said to him, grateful now for his presence, because he understood. Or so she thought. She pushed on her back again, moving into the walk-in closet. Of late she'd been in some form of his boxers and a t-shirt, because that was the only thing that fit her. Getting clothes for the last few weeks of her pregnancy didn't seem worth the expense, but she'd splurged on a couple items when she was feeling cute and fun and not like a beached whale.

"A purple dress," she murmured, thinking of the innocent, sweet voice in her head wearing a purple dress. She grinned, realizing that it was her subconscious talking, because she _did_ have a purple dress. It was filmy, with straps that tied at her shoulders and it cascaded in waaves over her belly and cupped her breasts nicely with a built-in bra, that was purely elastic, so no digging into her sides. She changed, sighing in relief, feeling a bit more human. 

A quick braid of her hair, rather messy and not at all her usual complicated styles, and she shoved her feet into a pair of slip-on metallic sandals, which still fit her swollen toes. She made her way carefully down the stairs in their old Victorian home, a hand on her side at all times. She entered the kitchen, in time to see Jon shove something into the fridge. "What's that?" she asked, lowering herself into a chair.

"Nothing."

"It's something, what is it?"

Jon hesitated. She arched a brow, wiggling her fingers, now desperately needing to know. He sighed and took his hand out of the fridge, walking over and lifting up a box. In the center was a large chocolate chip cookie with icing piped on the top: _Happy BIrthday Dany!_

And so she promptly burst into tears.

"It's so nice of you," she blubbered, his arms around her shoulders, kissing her neck as she held the cookie in her hands a moment later. "And I'm just being so mean, I'm so sorry, thank you!"

"I know how you feel about chocolate chip cookies," he said, smiling into her shoulder. He propped his chin on it and looked up at her while she gazed down at him, already breaking off a piece of the cookie.

She nodded, shoving the piece into her mouth and mumbled around the decadent treat. "Thank you."

"It's a big day, I at least wanted to get you something."

"I know, I just don't feel like it's a big day." She groaned, shifting again. The baby moved inside of her and sent a swift kick upwards. The last doctor's visit had informed them the baby was moving around readying for birth, right on schedule, and currently the feet were happily kicking along her spine and stomach, the head pressing right on her bladder depending on the baby's mood. She would need to have a very strong talk with their child when he or she was born.

It was so funny, she thought, cocking her head and chewing through her birthday breakfast treat. Chocolate chip cookies had been her vice of choice since the moment she found out she was pregnant. The baby was going to be born with a sugar addiction. She shrugged, picking at some of the icing and licking it from the tip of her finger. "I loved birthdays as a kid, but then sometimes I didn't care. It's weird."

"You know my opinion on the matter." He stood, kissing the top of her hair and patted her belly. "You look lovely today, by the way, have I told you that?"

She snorted. "Please. I think I gained another two pounds overnight."

He didn't push the issue; she knew he loved every extra pound, stretch mark, wrinkle, and inch of her. "Well whatever you want to do today, it's up to you." He was texting away on his phone, going to get another cup of coffee.

She sniffed the air, firing out to him. "That better be decaf!" He'd agreed to not drink caffeine in solidarity with her.

"Um...it is."

_Good gods he's a terrible liar._ She polished off her cookie, drank her orange juice-- folic acid was good for the baby-- and pushed to her feet again. She closed her eyes tight, a sharp pain rocketing from her pelvis up through her shoulder blades. It went right into the base of her skull, where her headache was still pounding. She groaned, lowering herself back down a moment. Ghost watched her warily. "Maybe in a minute," she mumbled, rubbing under her giant belly, a little nervous.

Jon was still texting when he came back from the kitchen into the breakfast nook where they spent their mornings. He glanced over to her. "It's just work," he said, his gray eyes darting around a second before he kept at it.

She squinted at him. He was lying. She picked up her orange juice again. "Alright." Her phone was sitting in the center of the table; she'd left it there last night and hadn't wanted to bother him to go get it for her. It still had a charge and after scanning through and replying to several text messages wishing her a happy birthday, she opened her email. She scowled. "I'm on leave, don't these people know that?"

"You're the boss," Jon said.

"I know, so you think they'd listen when I tell them not to bother me." She had started her maternity leave two days ago, only because her due date was in a week and the doctor told her to start powering it down. It was hard, as the head of a nonprofit, she did have a lot of responsibilities. Plus she _loved_ her work and it would be very difficult to push it aside, even with a baby on the way.

Which was why it was odd to her that Jon claimed he was 'working.' She squinted at him. He was biting his bottom lip, dark brows in a single line, frowning at whatever was going on. "Problem?" Since Jon was a journalist, for him to have an issue meant something big was going on. She chuckled. "The Lannister twins get caught fucking each other again?"

"Naw and even if they did, that's old news." He was an investigative journalist, he liked to say, he didn't deal with the soap opera that was the Lannister family, even if they were in Westerosi politics. He set his phone down, pushing it aside and grinned at her. "You want to go on a walk?"

"No, my back hurts, just help me to the porch, I want to get some sun. " She needed the heat like she needed air. They compromised on living in the old Victorian outside of his hometown because even though it was cooler than average and downright apocalyptic cold in the winter, the sun was out a lot during the summer months, and she could get her heat. Jon said she was a true dragon that way.

"Want your water bottle?"

"Yes," she said, thankful again for having such an attentive partner in this. She waited for him to come back before she grabbed his hand, kissing his knuckles. He smiled lovingly down at her. "I'm sorry I was a bitch this morning."

"Hey, you're growing a human, be a bitch all you want." He kissed her brow again, whispering. "And you're not a bitch. Just tired. I'll get your book."

"Thank you." She propped her feet on the stool, looking out at their beautiful backyard, Ghost running around chasing a bug that had dared to land on his head. It was really a lovely day. She chuckled, leaning back in the rocking chair, cushions propped around her for extra support. Jon returned with her things, setting them next to her. She glanced at him again, while he continued to text. "I don't feel like I am four and thirty years," she admitted.

He shrugged. "Neither do I."

"By just a few months," she teased. It was surreal. Neither of her brothers had made it to be as old as her. They died young. It didn't seem like she was a mother either, even though her nickname at work was 'Mother of Dragons.' Since she 'mothered' all the children that made their way through her nonprofit, receiving a dragon plushie when they arrived. She looked at her phone, her best friend Missandei texting.

_I'm going to stop by with your gift, I will not take no for an answer and we're going to get mani-pedis, you deserve it Mama!_

The idea of someone touching her sounded horrible, but a pedicure would be lovely...she glanced at her toes, wiggling them in her sandals. They were rather boring. She texted back. _Sounds lovely. But nothing big._

_Hush, it's your day Queen. Your boy toy better be treating you like it._

_He's too good for me sometimes._

_Just remember the time when he got drunk and fell off the porch and broke his ankle and then got stoned on his painkillers._

Dany snorted in laughter, giggling at the memory. It had been in uni when she and Jon met, getting their Master's degrees. She was getting hers in business management and he was getting his in journalism They had a couple of overlapping classes and before she knew it, they were _just friends_. But not really.

That had been a wild birthday party, she thought. Missandei could really throw them. Unfortunately, her concoction she liked to call _Breaker of Souls_ really did break Jon. He had two and suddenly thought he could fly. And while stoned, Jon admitted that he was in love with her, slurring the words as she tried to get him into bed with the big boot on his foot and not get whacked in the head with one of his crutches. It was her twenty-fourth birthday party, if she thought right, smiling wide. Ten years ago. Unbelievable. She glanced at Jon, who had come out again from the house and smelled suspiciously like cotton candy. She squinted. "Were you on your vape again?"

"No!"

"Hmm." At least he was quitting. He'd dumped the cigarettes when they found out she was pregnant. She rubbed her belly, gazing lovingly at him. Now that his hair had dried, it was shiny and loose, the curls messy about his face. He'd trimmed his beard recently too. He looked so handsome, sometimes it was hard to believe that they would have a baby that was half his beautiful genetics. She hoped the baby would get his dark curls. "Remember my 24th?"

He laughed, hopping up to sit on the porch railing, leaning against the post. "How could I forget? My ankle still hurts when it's going to rain. Forever a reminder."

"We moved in together on my 30th." Because her party had been beer and pizza.

He nodded to her belly. "And a baby on the 34th."

"Bite your tongue, "she warned. She still had a good week left to incubate their little dragon before it popped out of the shell. She closed her eyes. "Missy is going to get me and take me to get mani-pedi. Maybe we'll get lunch."

"That sounds very nice."

"Then I want to take a nap," she mumbled. She always took naps in the afternoon. Preferably with her water bottle in her back. She wondered what he had planned, as much as she said she didn't want anything big. It was just she didn't want him to go out of his way. They still had baby stuff to prep, he hadn't tackled the crib and changing table yet. They still had some boxes to unpack from the baby shower the previous month.

Birthdays were so weird for her and they always had been. When she was a child, she went to fancy schools where people had full blown gala events for their birthdays. Except she didn't, because she lived with her older brother and he was stressed beyond belief on the daily basis, trying to raise his siblings and cope with his issues. She had a couple of guardians after her brother died, they did what they could. Her other brother never cared. He didn't like her because he blamed her for their mother's death. She sometimes blamed herself too. Her mother died from an aneurysm no one knew she had, while she was giving birth to her.

It scared her. She hugged her belly, her back aching again, another sharp pain coursing to her pelvis. Her head hurt too, which also frightened her, but Dr. Mel had done the works on her. There were no aneurysms, no other health issues that she had to be worried about when she gave birth. She could do her natural birth plan, barring any emergency issues. She released a long breath, closing her eyes and taking another, pushing through the pain in her back. Sometimes she wondered if the baby just _knew_ where her sciatic nerve was.

"You alright there love?"

"Fine," she mumbled, taking another breath. She smiled, eyes fluttering open to focus on Jon, who was frowning, concerned at her. She forced her smile wider. "Just a little headache is all."

"I'll get you some water."

She didn't push it, just closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, only moving a moment later when her massive black cat Drogon jumped up to circle around and lay in the center of her belly, which had become his favored naptime location of late. She scratched his ears, sighing and drifting into a nap.

Birthdays, she thought, thinking of one she had as a kid. Jon didn't have birthday celebrations until she came around. She thought they were kindred like that, both of them just treating the day like any other day, they just were a year older. Except she kind of _liked_ the celebrations. It was because she didn’t have any, she justified, which was why she liked it when she was treated differently on the day. Except she didn't expect them. But sometimes she did.

Like now, she didn't want one, but _did she really want a big celebration?_ She wasn't going to lie and say 'no.' Now she kind of regretted biting Jon's head off earlier about birthday things. She wondered if he did have anything planned. He didn't seem like it now. Maybe that was why he was texting so much.

_Maybe he is still planning something._ She fell to sleep, not sure if she was okay with that or not. She chalked it up to the baby. The baby didn't know what it wanted.

* * *

"I love the red," Missy commented, studying Dany's toes which was something Dany couldn't say she could do. She assumed they looked okay; her belly took up her entire field of vision. She picked up her hand, frowning. "But why the pale pink on the nails?"

She shrugged. "Doctor told me that I shouldn't have too much color on my nails, guess they need to see if there's something wrong if my fingers change color."

"Makes sense." Missandei looked at the gold polish she'd chosen for her toes, wiggling them in her espadrilles. They reminded Dany of the curious color of her best friend's eyes, which were a deep brown that trended gold depending on the way the sunlight hit them. With her dark hair and her smooth caramel skin, she was a knockout. "Do we like this color?"

"Absolutely, it's perfect for you."

"I should have gotten it on my nails."

Dany picked up Missy's hand across the table at the cafe, inspecting the purple. "I love it. It suits you."

"Well the red suits you, now pick whatever you want, birthday treat." Missy reached into her tote, grinning mischievously. "And I have something for you."

"No! Missy!" She giggled, forgetting her menu and taking the pretty little mint green bag from one of King's Landing's most notoriously expensive and classic jewelry stores, _Margaery's_. She didn't even wait, diving her hand in and removing the trademark mint green box with gold ribbon. Her cheeks were pink, flushed and excited, while Missy bounced in her seat, clapping her hands like the one who was getting the gift instead.

Missandei always got her the best birthday gifts. It was something of a superpower, Missandei was the most generous and loveliest person in the universe, always ensuring everyone around her was happy, and when Dany opened the box, she let out a sob, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She didn’t care what she looked like, a blubbering whale, lifting up the gorgeous silver rattle, engraved on the handle.

_Baby Targaryen-Snow_.

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the heel of her hand. “Oh Missy, it’s beautiful. So beautiful.”

“I know it’s just a decorative thing, there’s something else more for you, but I wanted to get you one.” Missy beamed, until she was frowning, concerned. “Oh no, are you alright sweetie?”

It was the hormones, she figured, for why she was crying so hard over something so lovely. She touched the engraving, the writing spiraling together. “I guess I thought maybe Jon would…I don’t know. It’s so stupid.” She set the rattle in the crushed velvet wrapping, closing it up carefully.

The waiter came over, but Missy shot him a look warning that she would go crazy on his ass if he even thought of coming over then, which he understood instantly and did an immediate about face. She looked over at Missy, who scooted around the table, covering her hand, quiet. “Did Jon not get you anything?”

“He hasn’t given me a present yet, I kind of bit his head off this morning,” she laughed, flicking aside her tears. Missy plucked some Kleenex from her purse, passing it over. She blew out a hard breath, groaning softly. The pain had returned to her back. “It’s really dumb, I didn’t want anything big and I sort of yelled at him about it. I wasn’t feeling good. I’m still not feeling great.”

“Oh gods, is it the baby?”

“Just being nine months pregnant,” Dany laughed. She ran her hand over her belly, which put a good bit of distance between herself and the edge of the table. She wrapped her arm over it, smiling gently at her best friend. “And he’s been so sweet. We never talked about anything about…the baby’s last name I guess I thought by now we’d be married, but…I made a big thing about it in the beginning too, saying I didn’t want a ring for the sake of the baby.”

“Yeah you were pretty clear on that,” Missy said, smiling knowingly. She chewed her bottom lip a moment, hesitating and then swallowed, her throat constricting. “So Jon hasn’t given you his gift yet?”

“To be honest if he was planning anything big, he’s certainly canceled it.” She frowned. “And now I don’t know if I wanted that. I mean, he got me a cookie for breakfast.”

“That’s nice.”

She nodded, rubbing her belly. “The baby liked it.” She grinned. “And I loved my mani-pedi. I needed it.” She pointed to the other side of the table. “Now I’m done crying for myself…this is gorgeous, and the baby will adore it. I know I do.”

Missy squeezed her shoulders, kissing her temple. “Good. Now open up the next one.”

“You really shouldn’t have.”

“Yes, I really should have.”

The other gift was a necklace, with two charms, one a dragon and the other an egg. She started crying again, especially when Missy said that she could get the egg charm engraved with the baby’s initial. They barely got through lunch, mostly because she kept getting hit with crying jags and her back was still really hurting so the seat was highly uncomfortable. They ended up getting their food to-go and Missy took her to the car, frowning in concern as she watched her take careful steps.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Should I call Jon?”

“No,” she insisted. “It’s this baby. I’m going to give birth to a Northern child, probably already practicing its bar fighting skills and football kicks.”

“Possible.”

They drove away from the café, but opposite of the house, which Dany thought weird. Missy took her to get some ice cream, which she appreciated as she did have a sudden craving for Rocky Road. They were sitting at the park, finishing up, when she noticed Missandei kept glancing at her phone. “Something wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing, just Grey.”

“He alright?”

“Fine.” She finished texting, shoving the phone aside and grinned. “Come on, your other half deserves you on your birthday too.”

Dany laughed, offering both her hands so Missy could help her get off the park bench. “He’s probably glad to be rid of me.” She lifted up, stumbling a little and gasped, eyes slamming shut. Another intense pain shot straight through her back and she groaned again, leaning against Missy.

“Daenerys! _Fuck_ , are you alright? Is it the baby?” Now Missy was really worried, gripping her hands tight, trying to get her phone out while also look at her face at the same time. Her words trembled and she slipped into Valyrian. “Should I call Jon? The doctor?”

She shook her head hard. It was just back pain, nothing more. “Fine,” she ground out. She straightened up, blowing another breath through her nostrils. It faded away. She patted Missy’s hand, clutching so tight her knuckles were turning red. “It’s fine. Just the baby sits on my nerve sometimes, feels like a hot poker in my back.” Her friend did not seem convinced, but Dany didn’t care. She didn’t know what was going on, but something was, Missy still frowning deeply, glancing at her phone, like she wasn’t sure she shouldn’t call someone. She nudged her, walking carefully back towards the car. “I’m fine!”

“Hmm…forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

“Nine months pregnant Miss. Things are happening to my body that might seem bad, but apparently they’re perfectly normal.” She shrugged. “I just blame Jon.”

“Poor guy.”

“He’s the one that _insisted_ we didn’t need a condom even though I was on antibiotics for that sinus infection so my birth control didn't work.”

Missy frowned, looping her arm through hers, walking together to the car. “I still don’t know if I’ve heard this story. Where were you that it was so urgent, he couldn’t get a condom?”

Dany flushed, remembering the exact moment. It had been _good._ “Sansa’s wedding,” she mumbled, laughing at Missy’s delighted and horror-filled expression. “In the coat closet at the reception.”

“Oh my gods! Seriously? You didn’t tell me this!”

“We were drunk, we were bored, there was nothing else to do.” She shrugged. “So we did each other.” It was a fun evening stumbling through Winterfell trying to find new places to have sex. Apparently, all it did was just increase the odds of her getting knocked up that night, which she found out eight weeks later had certainly happened.

“I don’t know if I can look at Jon the same again.”

Dany clicked her seatbelt on, smiling. “He can be a horny little wolf sometimes.” She thought that would get her a smile, but Missy was texting again. “Missy!” she chastised.

“Sorry!”

They drove back towards the house, rather slowly Dany thought, but she figured Missy didn’t want to accidentally jostle the baby or something if they hit a pothole. She wondered what was so important she’d been texting as much as she had throughout their afternoon. She glanced out the window, grimacing as the pain returned and patted her belly idly, wishing the baby would just knock it off.

If anything, it increased.

* * *

“Where is Jon?” Dany wondered, walking up the path to the house, Missy at her side. She expected him to waiting out front, like he usually did most days when she left the house. He was terrified she’d suddenly just drop the baby in the middle of the street without him there, no matter how often she told him that that couldn’t happen. He’d been reading too much sensational stories.

Missy said nothing, helping her up the steps and to the front door. She shrugged. “Well I don’t know.”

“I hope he doesn’t think I was too mean with him.” She worried again about how she’d snapped so hard at him. She really didn’t want him to think she didn’t want to celebrate her birthday. She did, it was just…weird.

The front door opened, Jon hurrying out. “Hey!” he exclaimed, reaching for her face, lightly pecking a kiss; it was all he could do, trying to bend around the belly to reach her. “You look beautiful.”

“I look the same as I did when I left, just sweatier.” She bit her tongue, eyes closing hard. “Damnit! I’m sorry!”

Missy slipped into the house, saying nothing, and Jon only smiled again, reaching to push her braid over her shoulder, idly tucking a couple stray strands behind her ear. He fiddled with one of her earrings and tapped the finger to her lips. “It’s alright.”

“No, no it isn’t. Look, Jon…” she trailed off and stepped up into the house before he could say anything, turning and looking at him as he stood in front of her on the porch, the door open wide. She began to ramble, having thought about it after crying over the rattle with the hyphenated name, mentioning everything to Missy, and just thinking about things on the drive back to the house. “Jon, I love you, I love you so much, and I want to marry you, truly I do. I don’t want to rush things because of the baby and because we got pregnant on accident or anything like that. I’m sorry I was such a cow this morning and I don’t want you to think that I don’t want anything for my birthday because I do, I do want whatever you have planned and if you don’t have anything planned at all, that’s…that’s fine! You know birthdays are weird for me and I know that, and I’ve just not been feeling great and…” she trailed off, closing her eyes and ignoring the increasing stabbing pain up her spine, tiny little knives just entering between her vertebrae.

Jon opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “And I know that I’ve been giving you a hard time about being the reason why I’m pregnant and it’s all your fault and stuff, and I know it isn’t. I was just as drunk and desperate as you, plus it was Sansa’s wedding and it was so fucking boring and…”

“Ah, um,” Jon tried to say, his face turning red for some reason.

“No let me finish.” She pressed her fingers to his lips, carrying on. Maybe it was the baby that was making her so maudlin. “And you could marry me today or you can marry me in a thousand years, I will love you and I will love our baby and if you want to treat me like a queen on my birthday or if you want to pretend it doesn’t exist that’s…that’s fine!” She sighed, laughing. “Although it might be nice to at least get a present or something since I am about to pop out your baby and you haven’t even given me that yet!”

That’s when she noticed he was holding something in his hand. She frowned, pointing to it. “What is that? Is that your stupid vape thing? Jon!”

He hesitated and then lifted his hand, revealing a little remote. She was about to ask what it was for, when he pressed it and suddenly, she heard something pop and explode behind her and turned, laughing as streamers, balloons, confetti, and a massive sign rolled down from the ceiling with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAENERYS!” on it, and loud music suddenly playing, while their friends and family slowly emerged from hiding places, waving awkwardly and mumbling “Surprise.”

Including a very pissed off looking Sansa, who was glowering at them, while Jon’s other sister Arya could not contain herself, she was laughing so hard. “Oh my gods,” Dany mumbled, realizing that they’d all overheard her rambling. She yelped. “Oh gods!”

“Happy birthday!” Missandei called weakly, waving some sparklers from the back of the room, her husband Grey at her side doing the same.

Dany spun around to face Jon, who shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, nervous. “I had it all planned, but you were so upset about it I was trying to cancel things and then you seemed like you actually wanted it again, so Missy was taking you out while I was bringing it all back together and…” Jon shrugged again, sheepish. “Surprise.”

She started crying, reaching for him and wrapping her arms tight around his neck. “Oh my gods, I love you so much!”

“Remind me to never get pregnant, I can’t handle this shit,” Arya said, guzzling back some champagne, while her boyfriend Gendry looked alarmed.

Everyone came over to give her hugs and kisses, wishing her a Happy Birthday. There weren’t many, just a handful of people. Some of Jon’s siblings and their other halves, Missy and Grey, her old friend Jorah, and her old guardian Barristan, who she was delighted to see. He had planned to come in to meet the baby but made the trip earlier.

The party was quiet, Jon had obeyed her wish to at least give her something, but not ostentatious, and she managed to slip out to the back porch when she could. She’d been sitting throughout most of the afternoon with Missy and then again now. The sun was starting to go down. Ghost was at her side, very agitated since she’d gotten home, and she figured it was because she’d dared to leave his presence for a few minutes.

She waddled down to the weirwood tree, which was rather young, and not quite as grand as the one at Jon’s childhood home. They’d put a bench underneath it and she dropped down as gently as she could, but the move still sent pain shooting through her again. “You have got to knock it off,” she mumbled, rubbing the belly.

Ghost nosed at her side, his red eyes concerned, and she moved to pet him, saying nothing. She took some deep breaths, smiling, content. Yes, she was terribly uncomfortable, but she was happy. So bloody happy. She opened her eyes at a flash of light and looked up, laughing softly to see that there were tons of small white lights strung throughout the lower branches and around the backyard, giving it a fairy glow.

Jon approached her, hands in his pockets. He was smiling, his gray eyes soft and twinkling like the lights. “I love you,” she said, reaching for him. He didn’t sit beside her, but kept his hands in hers, squeezing gently. She cocked her head, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just painting a picture.” He scrunched his nose up. “You look so perfect sitting there. Wanted to make sure I remembered it forever.”

She arched a brow, chuckling. “Jon Snow, you have some pretty words. I didn’t think you were a poet.”

“I’m not, that’s why this is going to be a mess.” He was nervous again and dropped one of his hands from hers, rubbing it against his jeans. She didn’t know what his issue was. Maybe it was the baby. They were in the home stretch after all. As terrified as she was, she knew he was also going through his own thing.

“What mess?”

“Um, well…I…I was planning this for a long time, but you were so…” A hard breath huffed from him, his chest rising and falling quickly. He raked his fingers through his hair, sending it standing on end. “So adamant about it and I didn’t want to upset you, but I also think I know how you also feel and I just…I wanted to do it because it has nothing to do with you, but I mean, well…” He stammered, rolling his eyes up to the sky, ragged breathing again. “Fuck, I’m messing this up, um…godsdamnit…”

Now she was frightened. “Jon?” she whispered, struggling up to her feet. “What is the matter?”

He looked down at her, brow furrowed, and crinkles deepening in the corners of his eyes. “Nothing is the matter, it’s just…oh…fuck it.” He reached into his pocket for something and suddenly he was on the ground.

Dany gaped. He was on one knee. On the ground. In front of her.

Holding the most gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring she had ever seen.

He sputtered out, in one breath: “Daenerys-Targaryen-I-love-you-so-much-will-you-marry-me?”

Dany looked at the ring and then to him, his expression terrified, and she knew what she was going to say, but the words didn’t come out. Instead, she gasped at a strange sensation making its way down her leg and looked down. His gaze followed hers, eyes popping out of his head.

And the words she said were not at all the ones she ever planned to say when he asked her to marry him.

“Jon, I think my water just broke.”

* * *

It was no longer her birthday, but she didn’t care.

Quite honestly, Daenerys could not have cared about anything going on in the world, no matter what it might be, because she was focused on the only thing that truly mattered. She was exhausted, she was still feeling a dull ache everywhere in her bones, and she hadn’t showered in a day, and she was wearing a thin papery sheet over her body instead of clothing, but she did not care. And it didn’t matter.

Because in her arms was her daughter.

The baby she’d made with Jon, who was spooned behind her, careful of her still tender body and of the few wires and monitors that crept over the side of the hospital bed to her arms and chest. She ran her pinkie finger over the bow of their baby’s lips, shaking her head slightly. “She’s so perfect,” she whispered. Tears didn’t come, because she had likely cried them all out when Dr. Mel passed over the wiggling bundle to rest on her stomach while she watched Jon cut the umbilical cord.

“She looks like you,” he breathed. He had one hand around hers, helping to support their daughter.

They chose to name her after her grandmothers. Lyella, for Lyanna and Rhaella. They would call her Lya, although she’d already heard Jon call her “Ellie” while the nurses had shown him how to swaddle her up. Dany didn’t think she had ever loved anything more in her entire life, not even Jon.

She looked up at him, smiling. “I’m sorry I screwed up the party.”

“Oh seven hells Dany, fuck that party.”

“Well you planned it.”

“And look what we got out of it,” he laughed, pressing his forehead to her neck. She smiled, unable to stop; her cheeks were going to cramp. She gazed down again, watching Lyella’s tiny little breaths, her lips barely parted. Her eyes had opened very briefly at one point, showing a murky grayish-purple. Jon was thrilled; he had wanted their child to have her eyes.

But just like she wished, Lyella had his dark curls, which were contained beneath a soft white cap. Her tiny fingers peeked over top the blanket and one of her feet shoved out from a gap in the folds. Jon was obsessed with their baby’s feet, kept counting her toes and kissing them. She was obsessed with their daughter’s lips. They were just so perfectly pink.

She frowned, checking the clock on the stand beside her. “Oh wow,” she whispered. She laughed softly, Jon frowning. “I guess it didn’t quite hit me…we have the same birthday.”

“Aye,” he chuckled. He kissed her brow again, nuzzling against her before returning to stare in wonderment at their baby. “You do…and I didn’t give you your present yet.”

“Yes you did.” He cocked his head, confused. She lifted her hand, touching his cheek, eyes sunken in and as tired as hers. Her voice cracked, tears finally returning, spilling down her cheeks. “You gave me her. The best birthday present I could ever ask for.”

His smile wavered, his own eyes shining now. “I still have that other one for you.” He reached from his pocket again, holding up the ring. He was once again sheepish. “If you want it. I’m fine either way.”

The ring was breathtaking. She’d seen it before. It was his mother’s. She blinked through her tears, so she could focus on him. She wanted to make sure she saw his face. She nodded, barely, and mouthed ‘Yes’ because she couldn’t speak. There was a monitor on her left index finger, and he moved by it carefully so he could slip the ring onto her left ring finger. It didn’t go all the way down, her fingers were still swollen, but she didn’t care.

And when he kissed her, she sighed against him, smiling. It was the sweetest kiss. Perfect. “I love you,” he whispered. He chuckled again, looking down at Lyella, who barely squirmed, but opened her mouth briefly, a tiny sound escaping. “Happy birthday.”

Dany found herself laughing. “Happy birthday to me,” she murmured, grinning at the best birthday surprise she could have ever possibly imagined.

She hoped next year at least would be less eventful.


End file.
